| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Coxon Fund by Henry James: of obscurer type, presumably a waiting-maid. She herself might
perhaps have been a foreign countess, and before she addressed me I
had beguiled our sorry interval by finding in her a vague recall of
the opening of some novel of Madame Sand. It didn't make her more
fathomable to pass in a few minutes from this to the certitude that
she was American; it simply engendered depressing reflexions as to
the possible check to contributions from Boston. She asked me if,
as a person apparently more initiated, I would recommend further
waiting, and I answered that if she considered I was on my honour I
would privately deprecate it. Perhaps she didn't; at any rate our
talk took a turn that prolonged it till she became aware we were
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Koran: be but one, then let her have a half; and as to the parents, to each
of them a sixth of what he leaves, if he has a son; but if he have
no son, and his parents inherit, then let his mother have a third, and
if he have brethren, let his mother have a sixth after payment of
the bequest he bequeaths and of his debt.
Your parents or your children, ye know not which of them is
nearest to you in usefulness:- an ordinance this from God; verily, God
is knowing and wise! And ye shall have half of what your wives
leave, if they have no son; but if they have a son, then ye shall have
a fourth of what they leave, after payment of the bequests they
bequeath or of their debts. And they shall have a fourth of what ye
The Koran |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton: him if he'd give me five dollars I'd have money enough to buy a
ticket back to New York, and he took a good look at me and said,
well, if that was what I wanted he'd go straight to the station
with me and give me the five dollars there. So he did--and he
bought the ticket, and put me in the cars."
Evelina sank back, her face a sallow wedge in the white cleft
of the pillow. Ann Eliza leaned over her, and for a long time they
held each other without speaking.
They were still clasped in this dumb embrace when there was a
step in the shop and Ann Eliza, starting up, saw Miss Mellins in
the doorway.
|
